Hi everyone.  Jen is making slow and steady progress.  She started on liquids yesterday and hopefully will be coming home in the next couple days.

Those of you that talked to her on Thurs to Sat might have noticed that she wasn't completely herself.  She was struggling a bit with fatigue, mild dizziness, etc because her hemoglobin (transports oxygen to the body) was very low.  Although you might not have even noticed because she's a superstar even with a hemoglobin level that the rest of us would have really struggled with!

The doctors said the low hemoglobin is normal post-surgery, and they gave her a blood transfusion on Friday.  This sounds like a big deal, but it wasn't...it was basically just getting a pint of blood via an IV line.  By the next day, her hemoglobin had already improved a bit and should hopefully continue to climb.  Yesterday, I noticed that she was definitely feeling better and had a bit more energy.

It made us very thankful that the hospital has a good supply of blood.  And it's a great reminder that we should all take a few minutes to donate blood and platelets whenever we can.  I believe you can give blood at any hospital, but if you'd like to give it at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, the location and hours are here (just make a general blood donation, not one specific to Jen) - www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/11698.cfm

We're psyched that my Mom is coming to town to visit Jen!  I'll be with them, but I'll try to post an update tomorrow when I get a chance.  Good night and have a pleasant tomorrow.   - DL